Two women filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, alleging that photographs of them as children were part of a collection of child sexual abuse material he possessed and distributed. The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York on Sept. 16, 2026, seeks class-action status, unspecified damages, and a court-supervised program to identify and notify other women whose images may remain in the estate’s seized files.
The plaintiffs are identified by pseudonyms, Jane Doe and Amy. Their lawsuit alleges that Epstein and his co-conspirators possessed, transported, produced and distributed child sexual abuse material, and that the conspiracy stretched from the early 1990s until his death in 2019. No child sexual abuse material charges were ever filed against Epstein.
Allegations of a Hidden Collection
According to the lawsuit, Epstein kept a modeling book containing nude or partially nude sexualized images of children inside a locked safe. The complaint claims that he and others said the images were for developing child models for Victoria’s Secret. The lawsuit also alleges that Jane Doe’s photos were taken when she was about 12 years old as part of an artist study, and that Epstein later stole them. The complaint describes those images as a lascivious exhibition.
Amy’s photographs, known as the Misty series, have circulated since the 1990s, the lawsuit states. It says the images were seized from Epstein properties, but Amy was never notified that they had been found. The complaint adds that the Misty series appears in child pornography collections.
The lawsuit argues that few, if any, of the women whose photos were in Epstein’s collection were ever informed. It claims that law enforcement did not act despite reports.
Notification Gap at the Center of the Case
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a private nonprofit that works to find missing children and combat child sexual exploitation, contacted only a small number of Epstein victims, according to the lawsuit. Those contacted were addressed in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. NCMEC had no comment on identifying or contacting other women.
Hillary Nappi of AWK Survivor Advocate Attorneys, who represents the accusers, said the lawsuit aims to hold the estate accountable for a crime that has gone unaddressed. She said the estate should preserve and account for seized items, and that a court-supervised process is needed to identify and notify survivors. Nappi added that many survivors are unaware their images exist in the files, and that they deserve to know and to seek justice.
Daniel Weiner, an attorney for the estate, declined to comment. Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn are the co-executors of the Epstein estate.
Background: Death, Conviction and a Commutation Request
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His former associate Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 of recruiting and grooming teenage girls and of conspiring to sex traffic minors. She is serving a 20-year sentence.
A whistleblower report to Congress last year said Maxwell sought a commutation from President Donald Trump. Trump, who was once close to Epstein, has not granted the request and maintains he did not know Epstein preyed on young girls.
The modeling book allegations previously surfaced in a lawsuit filed by Maria Farmer, who claimed the government failed to protect her and others. The current case builds on that claim, seeking to reach other women whose images were allegedly part of the same collection.
